Reggie Sanders Likes Red Sox

Is the feeling mutual? 39 year-old outfielder Reggie Sanders is finally back from his hamstring tear, pinch-hitting on Monday and playing left field last night against the Red Sox. Sanders spoke positively of the possibility of playing for the Red Sox when asked.

In the half-month he’s played this year, Sanders has hit well. He has about $2.1MM left on his contract currently. The Royals would probably trade him for some salary relief and an A ball long shot prospect. The motivation for the Red Sox would be replacing Wily Mo Pena as the fourth outfielder, as the 25 year-old has really been scuffling this year outside of May.

Pena is a guy who really got the short end of the stick. After hitting 45 homers in 647 ABs for the Reds from 2004-05, he was traded to the Red Sox and stopped playing regularly. Surely that’s hurt his development. His comparables list is littered with 40-50 HR types, and as a baseball fan I want to see if he can realize that potential. Hopefully there’s a power-hungry team that values Pena as much as Epstein does and a deal can be made. The Padres have been mentioned, and that sounds reasonable.